Container for handling freight

ABSTRACT

A container for handling freight in overland and marine transportation capable of being stacked with other containers is superposed relation. Strong points are provided at the corners and intermediate the corners of the containers for stacking mixed lengths of containers and to facilitate handling with a single lifting spreader suited to the shortest length container of the mixed stack.

United States Patent Bodenheimer 1 Feb.29,1972

[54] CONTAINER FOR HANDLING FREIGHT [72] Inventor: Bert A. Bodenheimer, Stamford, Conn.

[73] Assignee: Sea-Land Service, Inc., Elizabeth, NJ.

[22] Filed: June 6, 1969 [21] App]. No.: 831,057

[52] US. Cl. ..220/ 1.5, 220/97 R [51] Int. Cl ..B65d 21/00 [58] Field of Search ..220/97, 1.5, 71, 72, 23.6,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,982,395 5/1961 Rados ..220/l.5 X 3,157,424 11/1964 Hall 220/84 X 3,015,407 l/l962 Fesmire et al. .....220/l.5

3,085,707 4/1963 Tantlinger ..220/97 X 2,635,762 4/1953 Shaw ..312/107 X Primary ExaminerRaphael H. Schwartz Attorney-David Rabin [5 7] ABSTRACT A container for handling freight in overland and marine transportation capable of being stacked with other containers is superposed relation. Strong points are provided at the comers and intermediate the corners of the containers for stacking mixed lengths of containers and to facilitate handling with a single lifting spreader suited to the shortest length container of the mixed stack.

7 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEB 29 I972 SHEET 1 [IF 2v \FILIFI: L-

INVENTOR BERT A. BODENHEIMER BY fl/ attorney CONTAINER FOR HANDLING FREIGHT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to the handling of freight in successive overland and marine transportation, particularly with reference to freight boxes or containers adapted to be mounted on a highway truck-trailer chassis, railway flat cars or the like, whereby the container is free to be hoisted and stowed aboard ship.

Freight containers which are capable of being stacked in superposed relation directly upon each other in considerable number so as to fill the hold and to increase deck storage of large seagoing vessels are known, for example, as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,044,653 and 3,085,707. Containers of this type are provided with heavy steel casting at each of the four front corners of the container and at each of the four rear corners of the container. Each corner of the container or box is provided with a comer post connected between associated pairs of upper and lower castings which comprise the full loadbearing members of the containers. Conventional openings in each of the steel castings are provided to facilitate the inner locking of the box with suitable lifting means for transferring the box from a land vehicle to a ship, and vice versa, and to facilitate the positioning and securing together of the boxes in stacked relation. The comer castings are so. related to the corner post and to the top, side, and end walls of the boxes that the boxes may be stacked one on another with all of the load taken by the corner castings and the corner posts.

Thuscontainers of the type disclosed in the above referred to patents necessitate stacking containers all of the same length in a given stack since the corner castings and posts take all the load.

Further, since the containers are designed to be picked up by means of a lifting spreader, such as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,227, the intermixing of sizes is not readily accomplished unless the spreader be changed or made very complex to permit shifting the spreader pickup points to the correct length.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the stacking of standardized containers having corner support points with containers having support points at the corners and intermediate the container length. While this invention relates specifically to the intermixing of 35 foot and 40 foot containers, it is to be understood that any combination of container lengths, for example, and 40 foot, 24 and 40 foot, or even 20, 30 and 40 foot containers could be equally well adapted for stacking in mixed relation.

The intermediate support points and the comer support points of the container of this invention are sufficiently strong to support a plurality of containers thereabove in superposed relation. Conventional openings are provided in each of the support points to facilitate thelocking of the container with conventional lifting means for transferring the container.

With this arrangement, the containers of this invention are capable of being stacked interchangeably, in various loading arrangements with other containers of equal or shorter length. The intermediate support points are spaced to coincide with the corner posts of a container of shorter length while the comer support points coincide with the corner supports of other containers of equal length. In this manner the load path for a stacked series of containers may be either at the intermediate support points or the corner support points depending upon the lengths of the stacked containers.

Since each stack of containers would have a common load path, a conventional spreader mechanism having relatively fixed pickup points, designed for lifting the shortest of the containers in a prescribed container stack, can be utilized for transferring, stacking or unstacking the mixed length containers.

The present invention provides a container capable of being hoisted between land vehicles and marine vessels by existing transferring apparatus and lifting systems, and capable of being stacked in engaged, superposed relation one on another on land or on a ship.

One feature of the invention is the stacking in superposed relation containers of different lengths wherein each stack of containers has a given or common load path aligned with the comer support points or intermediate support points determined by the shortest length container and wherein all containers in a given stack are capable of being transferred by a single lifting device adapted to be connected with the shortest of the containers.

,Another feature of the invention is the provision of a container having strong or support points at the four corners, top and bottom, of the container, for alignment with support points of a container of substantially equal length and intermediate strong or support points, at the top and bottom of the container spaced sufficiently to align with the support points of a container of shorter length so as to be releasably secured thereto in stacked relationship.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. I is a plan view of the side of the elongated container;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the container illustrating the comer and intermediate spaced support points;

FIG. 3 is a view of the front wall of the container of FIG. I;

FIG. 4 is a view of the rear portion including the doors of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the front corner and intermediate post construction taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the rear comer and intermediate post construction taken along line 66 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of one of the intermediate support castings having openings therein for receiving supports of a standard 35-foot container; and

FIGS. 8a-8g illustrate the various loading arrangements possible by intermixing applicants container with standard 35-foot and standard 40-foot units in stacked relation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the drawing the numeral 10 designates generally the container comprising basically a pair of sidewalls 12, a top cover 13, a rear end wall constituted principally by a pair of hinged, outwardly opening doors l4, and a front end wall 16, all mounted on a floor or bottom wall 18. The front and sidewalls are formed of sheet metal panels 13 stiffened by vertical ribs, but could equally well be made of plywood, fiberglass or other suitable materials used singly or in combination. The container body is capable of being detachably secured to a railway flat car or highway tractor-trailer chassis for hoisting onto a marine vessel where it can be stacked in a column of variable length containers.

In order to support the full weight of a plurality of superposed bodies and to transport that load to the support beneath, comer castings 20 and corner posts 22, of a construction similar to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,044,653, 3,085,707 and 3,042,227, are provided. Each of the corner posts 22, having upper and lower castings 20 welded thereto at each end, are of a strength sufficient to support a plurality of containers thereabove. The castings 20 welded to the bottom of the corner posts extend to a horizontal plane lower than any other part of the container body so that they alone will make contact with the top corner castings of a subjacent container in a stack. Each of the top and bottom corner castings 20 has an opening or socket 24 therein formed to receive a coupling mechanism, not shown, for securing adjacent containers in position and to each other, and for lifting the container by means of slings or a spreader bar.

Positioned along each sidewall 12 intermediate the corner posts 22 are support posts 26 each spaced approximately 2% feet from the corner posts 22. Secured to the upper and lower ends of the post 26 are support plates 28 similarly provided with sockets or openings 30 adapted to receive a conventional coupling mechanism, not shown. All posts, support castings and support plates are connected at their bottom, top and sides by sills or rails 29 as usual in container or trailer constructions. The openings or sockets 30 are adapted to be engaged by a conventional hoisting device or spreader bar mechanism for lifting and lowering the container body 10 between shipboard and shore areas. It is apparent that the lifting loads on the container 10 are no more severe than on a standard 35-foot container since the load distributed within the central 35-foot portion of the 40-foot container would be substantially equal to that of a standard 35-foot container since the bending moment of the container is less when the container is supported inboard or intermediate the end points or corners, and any load in the cantilevered 2% foot portion b on each end of the central 35-foot portion would tend to reduce the bending moments of the box.

By providing intermediate support posts 26 and support plates 22 spaced approximately 35-feet apart along each sidewall 12, it is possible to interchangeably stack the elongated containers of this invention with standard 35-foot units, and to remove these containers from a ship by means of a 35- foot spreader bar without delay.

Referring to FIG. 2, c represents the 40 foot distance between support points at the corner posts 22 for connection with a standard 40-foot container, while represents the 35- foot distance between intermediate support posts 26 for coupling to standard 35-foot containers. FIGS. 8a through 8g represent a variety of possible loading arrangements utilizing applicants container 10 with standard 35-foot containers 35 and standard 40-foot containers 40 positioned in stacked relation on supports 50. As noted in the figures, the standard containers have support points only at the corners. The corner supports of applicant's container are positioned so as to be coupled with similar containers or with standard 40-foot containers while the intermediate support points of applicants container are positioned to be coupled with a standard 35-foot container.

From the foregoing, it is believedto be apparent that the present invention provides a container capable of being interchangeably stacked between itself and standardized containers of variable lengths having support points only at the comers thereof. The containers can be packed with freight, for example, at a factory, and the containers need not be opened and unloaded until the distribution point at the final destination is reached. The packed containers may be conveyed overland, transferred to a ship, and secured in position for marine transportation to a port of destination. When the destination is reached, the reverse procedure may be resorted to with the containers being transferred from the ship to highway trailer chassis to be transferred thereby to the ultimate destination.

While this invention has been described with respect to 35- foot and 40-foot containers, it is obvious that other containers of variable lengths could equally well be stacked in superposed relation utilizing the principals of this invention. The mixed length containers can be easily and rapidly transferred by a single conventional lifting means adapted to be coupled with support points of the shortest length container in a stack.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the intermediate support posts 26 and support plates 28 are spaced from the ends of the container a distance b, FIG. 12, not greater than 25 percent of the container'length c.

Iclaim:

l. Freight-handling apparatus comprising a body for stacking interchangeably in superposed relation with other bodies of the same or different lengths, said body including a platform base for supporting freight thereon having a predetermined length and longitudinally spaced end portions, means spaced substantially from said platform base end portions for lifting or said body and supporting said body in superposed relation with a plurality of other bodies of the same or of different lengths, said means including vertically disposed frames spaced from each other and spaced intermediate said platform base end portions, each of said vertically disposed frames including coupling members at the upper and lower ends thereof for facilitating coupling of said body to a lifting mechanism or other containers in superposed relation and for supporting the weight of an upper body mounted thereon, and comer posts secured adjacent the end portions of said container base for lifting and supporting said body, said corner posts being spaced longitudinally from said means and including upper and lower castings provided with openings for the reception of connecting or lifting lugs.

2. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 1, said means being spaced from said platform base end portions in the range of not greater than 25 percent of said predetermined length.

3. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 1, including longitudinally extending framing members interconnecting said vertically extending frames.

4. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 1, said coupling members including upper and lower castings whereby a plurality of said bodies may be mounted upon each other with the weight of an upper body borne exclusively by the castings of a lower body, said castings being provided with openings for the reception of connecting lugs or lifting means.

5. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 1, said body further including front, rear and sidewalls secured to said platform base, said corner supports and said means.

6. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 5, said rear wall including hingedly mounted doors for providing access to said body.

7. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 6, and further including a top wall cooperating with said front, rear and sidewalls to form a closed body. 

1. Freight-handling apparatus comprising a body for stacking interchangeably in superposed relation with other bodies of the same or different lengths, said body including a platform base for supporting freight thereon having a predetermined length and longitudinally spaced end portions, means spaced substantially from said platform base end portions for lifting or said body and supporting said body in superposed relation with a plurality of other bodies of the same or of different lengths, said means including vertically disposed frames spaced from each other and spaced intermediate said platform base end portions, each of said vertically disposed frames including coupling members at the upper and lower ends thereof for facilitating coupling of said body to a lifting mechanism or other containers in superposed relation and for supporting the weight of an upper body mounted thereon, and corner posts secured adjacent the end portions of said container base for lifting and supporting said body, said corner posts being spaced longitudinally from said means and including upper and lower castings provided with openings for the reception of connecting or lifting lugs.
 2. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 1, said means being spaced from said platform base end portions in the range of not greater than 25 percent of said predetermined length.
 3. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 1, including longitudinally extending framing members interconnecting said vertically extending frames.
 4. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 1, said coupling members including upper and lower castings whereby a plurality of said bodies may be mounted upon each other with the weight of an upper body borne exclusively by the castings of a lower body, said castings being provided with openings for the reception of connecting lugs or lifting means.
 5. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 1, said body further including front, rear and sidewalls secured to said platform base, said corner supports and said means.
 6. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 5, said rear wall including hingedly mounted doors for providing access to said body.
 7. Freight-handling apparatus of claim 6, and further including a top wall cooperating with said front, rear and sidewalls to form a closed body. 